How long will we 'get away with ' sharing meals with DD when out?

[AliceTheCamelHasFiveHumps]

DD is 3y4m and I still share meals when out. So if I order sausage, mash and veg. It's usually 3 sausages, like if mash and veggies.

She'll have ½-1 sausage,and some of the veggies and mash.
Or say, McDonald's, she'll have around 10 of my chips and maybe one chicken select.

What age did you stop sharing?

Dd2 is 22 months and we always order her a kids meal and have for ages. She wastes most of it but I'd rather she have a go and i think restaurants would be annoyed if I didn't pay for her to have her own meal (especially at 3!!) 10 McDonald's fries is not a lot!

My kid isn't going hungry when she shares. She still doesn't eat everything given any way. And even if she did want more. I'd be the one to go hungry or order her more food.

I think the experience of choosing and eating as much of your own meal as you want is valuable for children.

Surely it depends on the portion sizes?

At our local cafe we'll get a (massive) child's portion of macaroni cheese and a Greek salad and then mix and match.

(Dd is nearly 3)

Because sometimes the portions are huge and my DD doesn't eat that much when out. Even when she is given her own meal, she eats like a sparrow and doesn't eat ½ of it.

Which is fine because she's chosen how much she wants to eat. Honestly she won't magically start eating more if you're only giving her a tiny portion off your plate. At almost 3 1/2 you should be ordering her, her own meal 99% of the time whether she will eat it all or not because one day she will eat everything and you won't know when that day will be if you're restricting her by giving her 10 chips and a tiny bit of chicken.

When mine were very young, we'd take something with us and then top it up with something from our plates. By 3 they'd have their own meal usually.

We shared at 3 if DC didn't like the children's meals at pubs or they liked the sound of ours. It was quite easy for DH and I to order 3 side dishes with our meals and then DC would eat from ours.

Your portion sizes for a 3 year old sound unusually small OP.

Maybe try it

a chicken select is prob the same size cut up as 4 nuggets

dd never eats all her chips in a happy meal

you asked what was the normal age

everyone has said def before the age of your child

I am suprised that venues have never queried it

Depends on the venue.

I used to get the fruit bag and chicken nuggets happy meal (no chips) in McDonalds for example.

We lived in an area popular with walkers so portions in pubs were massive... they happily brought an extra plate for the toddlers. Or they shared a children's meal.

Other places like Toby Carvery, have a clear age limit.

My DDs are 10&11 now and sometimes we split an adult and children's meal with 10yo since she needs a bit more but a full adult is too much. (11yo happy with a children's meal)

Meh, me DH and 2 DC (5 and 7) will often get 3 mains between us when out - more space for pudding! Deffo not competitive undereaters either.
Recently did this at at least 3 places in London and no one batted an eyelid.

presumably you’re not eating out with your DD for every meal? I’m sure she’s getting free choice and her own plate at home, why waste a bunch of money and food just for the look of her having her ‘own’ meal which she almost certainly won’t make a dent in.

Depends on where you are. If it's somewhere you can order a drink only I think it's ok. If she's not taking up a space at the table I think it's ok (ie. you're at a 2 seater table) but I think if you're in a restaurant taking up a seat it's quite cheeky at 3 years of age.

DS ate his and then probably would have snaffled some of mine if he could! We didn’t last long with child’s portions either, but that was mainly down to choice rather than portion size.

If your child is an adventurous but small eater @AliceTheCamelHasFiveHumps I’d probably go somewhere where sharing food is the norm eg tapas, so won’t get questioned if you are not buying a specific meal for her

@AliceTheCamelHasFiveHumps my post was lighthearted! I've read your other posts that do explain your daughters small appetite.

(I'd still need my own portion though!😁)

**

I can’t share with my 12 month old… haven’t been able to for quite a few months. Ordered us a baked potato with tuna to share for lunch when he was maybe 9-10 months and I got about 3 teaspoons so now I usually have to get him something if I haven’t brought our own for him.

If a restaurant has tapas then this is a good option for children, you can order enough for everyone and children can try a bit if what they fancy. Children's meals are often not that appealing.

I’m always so amazed at all these children that are eating so much.

My DC are born primary age. If I take them out, if they order a meal each I won’t need one. I’d be fine if they are more, but they never do.

It's not competitive undereating.

Some children eat very little and it can actually cause parents to worry. In a lot of cases it's normal. No one here is bragging.

I never shared

All mine were much younger than 3

I think by that age its nice for them to experience having a choice when they are eating out.

Never have, other than when weaning.
If I gave DS half a sausage a nd a spoon of mash and veg he'd be vocally displeased

Given she eats so little, it is fine to keep doing it as long as you are both full from one meal.

Most kids and adults can't share one meal and both be full so it ends when one or the other needs more food than is in a shared meal.

It also depends on the size of the meal. At certain restaurants, portions can be huge and sharing works well until a much later age.

I remember ds being just under one and trying to share in Nando’s.. didn’t make that mistake again! By three he would easily eat three wings, spicy rice, and chips. Not all restaurants would be happy about it either, although obviously takeaway would be different.

Ha! Wait till your DD starts refusing the kids meals! How many times we’ve argued with a seven year old who demands the adult size portions of ribs ‘cuz I’m hungry’ and the shame of being handed a paper kids placemat and a box of crayons 🙄 No matter how hard we try to sell the kids meal ‘you get a desert and refill on drinks - what’s not to like?’ We get ‘but I’m not a kid - I’m 8/7/9/10’.

My DD is 2 and doesn't eat very much at all, she'd have one slice of pizza or about 3 pieces of pasta etc but I still get her something from kids menu just incase she wants to eat it all

@UneFoisAuChalet we had to catch the waiter’s eye before he bought the box of crayons and child’s menu to DS when he was about 7!

See for me I don’t see that - I just see comment after comment of people saying their child would eat a whole portion of food from a really, really young age. That has not been my experience of having children at all.